Last day of voting in Stratford BID election with result due on Friday
THE decision on whether or not Stratford’s Business Improvement District gets five more years reaches the beginning of the end – or the end of the beginning – this week.
The ballot of those eligible to vote closes today (Thursday) and the result will be declared tomorrow (Friday).
But after weeks of heated debates about whether the BID has done enough to deserve a further term after its high-profile events like the river festival disappeared from the calendar, the story could yet run on.
A particular thorn in the opposition’s side has been the shift in a key element of the BID’s make-up – an increase in the rateable value threshold for those in the area it covers, meaning a number of independent businesses and independently-minded owners lose their vote.
That change – and a variation of the BID area – means the group leading the resistance, Business Action Groups Stratford (BAGS), challenged the district council that it was running the wrong form of ballot and that the ballot it had chosen to run was flawed.
In a response to the Herald last week, the council confirmed that as the ballot was already under way there was no provision in law for it to call a halt. It said the cases BAGS pointed to where ballots had been paused to reconsider the chosen format occurred before voting started. It also pointed out that the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Secretary, Michael Gove, has the power to void a ballot, but this can only happen after voting has finished.
With the ballot result imminent, the Herald this week asked for an update but a spokesperson said that the council would be making no further comment on the issue.
BAGS, meanwhile, has continued to scrutinise every aspect of the ballot. Having exercised their right to see the list of people eligible to cast a vote, it claimed there were inaccuracies in the list, including businesses that have closed down. It also said businesses were reporting difficulty in getting a ballot paper.
On this, the council spokesperson said: “All businesses set out on the voting list were sent a ballot paper at the commencement of the voting process which included specific instructions with regard to any replacement ballot paper request. Checks on the replacement process are thoroughly undertaken so there is no opportunity to vote twice per hereditament.”
